Childhood Magic

my childhood was magical
like when everybody in my family
disappeared at the K-mart and I was the Blue Light Special

or like when I fell out of the attic
and almost broke my back
that was almost like rabbits out of a hat

(except for the direction) and speaking of ears
sometimes suddenly
things would appear from behind them

like the senior’s accelerating middle finger-nail
(on a bitter cold
waiting-for-the-bus morning) flicked against

my bare skin and then my lunch money coins
floated out
of my pockets (but not the marbles and rocks)

and my auricles
burned brighter red
than Rudolph's nose throughout first period